The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) needs two justices, including a president

CCJ needs two justices, including a president
by Oscar Ramjeet


The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has been in operation for five-and-a-half years as a final appellate court, with only three countries on board, and already it is on the hunt for a new president and another judge, and one has already retired.

Guyanese Duke Pollard reached the age of 75 and went into retirement after being given a three-year extension.

President Michael De La Bastide, who celebrated his 73rd birthday on July 18 this year, will go into retirement mid-next year and the CCJ has already placed advertisements in the region’s media inviting applicants who have served as a judge for five years or more in a court of unlimited jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters in the region, the Commonwealth or in a civil law jurisdiction.

Applicants are also being encouraged from persons who have been engaged as a practitioner or teacher of law for not less than 15 years in a member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) or in some part of the Commonwealth or in a civil law jurisdiction.

The CCJ notes that the tenure of the president is for a "non renewable term of seven years or until age 72, whichever is earlier.”

The lone female judge in the regional court, Desiree Bernard, will be 72, and if she does not get an extension, the CCJ will have to get a replacement and the question is if the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission will look for another female to fill the slot held by Justice Bernard who had several firsts -- the first solicitor to be appointed a judge, the first female to be appointed a judge in Guyana, first female to be an appellate court judge, also chief justice, and the first woman to be head of the judiciary in the Caribbean when she was named Chancellor of the Judiciary in Guyana more than a decade ago.

The regional court has the most modern technology in several areas -- for video conferencing, research, and even presentation in court -- and it is very unfortunate that after such a relatively long time only three countries have joined the court. It seems to me that the other countries have breached their agreement with the Caribbean Development Bank since they agreed to go on board within a reasonable time.

Although most of the countries have not abolished appeals to the Privy Council, so that the CCJ can be their final appellate court, the CCJ can still determine their issues in its original jurisdiction.

I am surprised and disappointed with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago because these two countries were in the forefront in the late 1980s and early 1990s towards the setting up of the court. I recall the attorneys general of these two countries, Oswald Harding of Jamaica, and Selwyn Richardson (now deceased) of Trinidad and Tobago, were moving around the region lobbying governments to join the CCJ, and it is unfortunate those two countries have not yet done so.

Trinidad and Tobago’s new prime minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar, said that she will seek a referendum from the electorate before doing so. This is a bit baffling because it was the UNC administration under Basdeo Panday which was pushing for the court -- hence the reason why the court is located in Port of Spain.

Former Commonwealth Secretary General, Sir Shridath Ramphal, who has been advocating Caribbean integration for five decades, said in an interview with me that, if the CCJ collapses, the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) will fail.

Ramphal joined with four other eminent CARICOM nationals, former Jamaica prime minister, PJ Patterson; former CARICOM secretary general, Alister McIntyre; Dominica's president, Nicholas Liverpool; and University of the West Indies Vice Chancellor Sir George Alleyne, all recipients of the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC), the highest award in the region, in calling on the other regional governments to rid themselves of the Privy Council and join the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ.

The latest call for the other regional governments to join the CCJ came this week from another distinguished Caribbean jurist, Patrick Robertson, president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, who said that the regional governments should have abolished appeals to the Privy Council since the day they became independent states.

So far, only Guyana, Barbados, and Belize have abolished appeals to the Privy Council. Let’s hope that the others will soon come on board.

October 19, 2010

caribbeannewsnow

Bahamas Blog International

Jamaican appointed Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) judge - will this prompt progress?

By Oscar Ramjeet:

The Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC) appointed a Jamaican as the newest judge in the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

He is Professor Charles Anderson, an academic who replaces Duke Pollard, who goes into retirement on June 10 next when the new judge will assume duties.

He is the first Jamaican to be appointed to the regional court, and the omission of a judge from the largest country in the region has been criticised, especially since that country contributes 27 percent of the costs to run and administer the Court.

Former Attorney General of Jamaica, Dr Osward Harding, who is now the President of the Senate, had indicated to me two years ago that several highly qualified Jamaicans, including a few outstanding Senior Counsel, were overlooked five years ago.

Now that that a Jamaican has been appointed as a judge, one wonders if this will accelerate the powers that be in Kingston to join the Appellate Division of the Court.

Pollard's appointment in the regional court was criticized in some quarters since he was never in active law practice, never served as an advocate either as counsel or prosecutor and has never sat as a judge. He has been an academic throughout his legal career and was involved in preparatory work for the establishment of the CCJ.

The tenure of CCJ judges expires at 72 years of age, but Pollard was given a three year extension two and a half years ago.

Since Pollard's appointment was criticised, legal practitioners want to know why the RJLSC chose a law professor rather than an experienced judge.

Anderson holds a law degree from the University of the West Indies and a Doctorate in Philosophy (Phd) in international law from the University of Cambridge. For most of his career, he has been a member of the Law Faculty of UWI. He was appointed lecturer in 1994, senior lecturer in 1999 and was made professor in 2006. He spent a year as a research fellow at the University of Sheffield between 1994 and 1995, and a year as senior lecturer on fellowship at the University of Western Australia in 1996. He is currently the executive director of the Caribbean Law Institute Centre (CLIC).

Professor Anderson and Professor Simeon McIntosh were involved during the past two years travelling around the Caribbean participating in seminars promoting the CCJ, and urging governments to join the Appellate Division of the Regional Court

The lone female judge in the Court, Desiree Bernard, who was Chief Justice and former Chancellor of Guyana, will reach the age of retirement in March next year, and already there are discussions in the legal circles whether she will be given an extension and, if not, whether another female will be appointed to replace the distinguished Guyanese, who had many firsts in her homeland - the first female judge, first female Court of Appeal Judge, first female Chief Justice, first female Chancellor of Guyana and first female Head of the Judiciary in the Caribbean. She is also the first solicitor to be appointed a judge, the reason being that the legal profession in Guyana was fused in 1979 and Justice Bernard, a practicing solicitor, automatically became an attorney at law since both solicitors and barristers were known as attorneys as of November 1979.

Justice Bernard was appointed a High Court Judge in 1980. I recall writing a piece in the local newspapers under the headline "High time for a female judge in Guyana" and I suggested her appointment although she was from the practicing Bar, and the following week she was named.

Belize will soon be on board as the third jurisdiction to join the CCJ, and I look forward for Dominica and Jamaica to do so soon rather than later. I am also hopeful that Trinidad and Tobago will consider joining now that there is a new opposition leader in Kamla Persad Bissessar, a West Indian trained attorney who served as attorney general in the Basdeo Panday administration.

March 29, 2010

caribbeannetnews

Bahamas Blog International